CLEVELAND — Shedeur Sanders threw for 186 yards and a touchdown, Cleveland’s defence kept Pittsburgh out of the end zone and the Browns held on for a 13-6 victory on Sunday, preventing the Steelers from clinching the AFC North.
Pittsburgh (9-7) came into the weekend needing either a win or loss by Baltimore for its first division title since 2020.
Instead, the Steelers will host the Ravens to close the regular season the winner getting the division and the AFC’s fourth seed in the playoffs.
The Browns (4-12) snapped a four-game losing streak, along with a seven-game skid in division games. It is the first time since Dec. 10, 2009, that the Browns defeated the Steelers and held them without a touchdown.
SEAHAWKS 27, PANTHERS 10
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Zach Charbonnet ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and the Seattle Seahawks turned two third-quarter Carolina turnovers into TDs to beat the Panthers 27-10 on Sunday and close in on the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Sam Darnold threw an interception in the end zone but finished 18 of 27 for 147 yards with a touchdown for the Seahawks, who can wrap up the NFC West title and the top seed if the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams both lose or tie.
Jaxson Smith-Njigba added nine catches for 72 yards as Seattle (13-3) won its sixth straight.
The Panthers (8-8) had a chance to win the NFC South because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 20-17 at Miami on Sunday. Now the Panthers will need to win at Tampa Bay next weekend to win their first division title since 2015 and snap a seven-year playoff drought.
PATRIOTS 42, JETS 10
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Drake Maye threw a career-high five touchdown passes before getting the rest of the game off in the third quarter, New England scored a TD on its first six drives and the Patriots finished the regular season undefeated on the road by dominating the New York Jets 42-10 on Sunday.
Rhamondre Stevenson had a TD run and catch for the Patriots (13-3), who moved closer to winning the AFC East title for the first time since 2019. They’ll do so if Buffalo loses or ties against Philadelphia later in the day.
Maye was 19 of 21 for 256 yards and a 157.0 quarterback rating with TD tosses to Stevenson, Stefon Diggs, Austin Hooper, Hunter Henry and Efton Chism III before being lifted by coach Mike Vrabel for Joshua Dobbs with 5:31 left in the third quarter. Maye joined Tom Brady (11 times) and Drew Bledsoe (twice) as the only New England quarterbacks to reach 4,000 yards passing in a season.
BENGALS 37, CARDINALS 14
CINCINNATI — Ja’Marr Chase caught two touchdown passes from Joe Burrow, who threw for 305 yards as the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Arizona Cardinals 37-14 on Sunday.
Chase finished with seven catches for 60 yards and became the first player in NFL history with at least 80 receptions, 1,000 receiving yards and seven TD catches in each of his first five seasons.
Burrow passed for 300 yards or more for the 28th time, tying Andy Dalton for the most in franchise history. Chase Brown ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns as the Bengals (6-10) improved to 3-2 since Burrow returned from left toe surgery.
Arizona’s Trey McBride had 10 catches, giving him 119 this season to break the NFL single-season record for a tight end, topping Zach Ertz’s 116 in 2018. He also broke DeAndre Hopkins’ Cardinals record of 115 catches, set in 2020.
DOLPHINS 20, BUCCANEERS 17
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63-yard toss for his first career score, and the Miami Dolphins beat the slumping Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-17 on Sunday.
The Bucs (7-9) remained one game behind the Carolina Panthers (8-8) in the NFC South after the Panthers’ 27-10 loss to Seattle on Sunday. The Buccaneers would still clinch their fifth consecutive division title and sixth straight playoff berth by beating Carolina in next week’s regular-season finale.
But Tampa Bay has lost four straight games, seven of its last eight and has barely looked like a playoff team during that stretch. The Buccaneers’ last four losses have all been by one possession.
JAGUARS 23, COLTS 17
INDIANAPOLIS — Trevor Lawrence ran for two scores, Cam Little kicked a tiebreaking 42-yard field goal with 6:58 left, and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 on Sunday, moving within one victory of their first AFC South title since 2022.
The Jags (12-4) won their seventh straight game one day after two-time defending division champ Houston beat the Los Angeles Chargers to remain in contention for the title. The Texans’ victory also eliminated the Colts from playoff contention.
Jacksonville’s Liam Coen became the first coach in NFL history to take over a four-win team and win 12 games the next season.
Lawrence went 23 of 37 for 263 yards, though his streak of consecutive games with at least 225 yards passing, two TDs and a passer rating over 100 ended at four. He did not have a touchdown pass and he threw his first interception in five weeks.
The Jags kept 44-year-old Colts quarterback Philip Rivers winless in three games since he returned to the league following a five-year retirement.
SAINTS 34, TITANS 26
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tyler Shough threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Austin Jr. with 6:22 left to put the New Orleans Saints ahead to stay as they rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans 34-26 Sunday.
Shough improved to 5-3 as a starter, helping the Saints (6-10) win their fourth straight. He outplayed Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, in the NFL’s third game between starting rookie quarterbacks this season. Shough was 22 of 27 for a career-best 333 yards and two touchdowns with a 142.7 passer rating.
Audric Estime added a 32-yard TD run with 3:44 left as New Orleans dominated the second half. The Saints both outscored the Titans 24-6 and outgained them 331-152 after halftime.
Chase Young had 1 1/2 of the Saints’ four sacks and also stripped Ward and returned the fumble 33 yards for a touchdown. Charlie Smyth kicked a pair of field goals. Young got a half-sack with 5:16 left to force the Titans in a three-and-out.
The Titans (3-13) now go into the 2026 season trying to string together consecutive wins. That’s something this franchise hasn’t done since Nov. 13 and Nov. 17 of the 2022 season. They are 1-8 at home this season.
